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How Scientists Study Space Weather

Scientists combine various techniques to study space weather. Earth-based
and orbiting telescopes constantly observe the Sun in many different wavelengths.
Both satellites and ground-based instruments contribute readings of space
weather features such as particle densities, magnetic field strengths, and
radiation intensities. Scientists develop complex mathematical
models based on the laws of physics to predict behaviors of space
weather systems. Space physicists have also developed metrics, such as sunspot counts, to quantitatively describe variations in space weather.

Because of the complexity of space weather systems, scientists often use models to try to understand and predict the systems. Some models describe the Sun,
others interplanetary space, and still others cover the Earth's magnetosphere or its upper atmosphere. Sophisticated computer software crunches the numbers
generated by these models so scientists can compare their predictions with
observed events.

We have only been making direct observations of the Sun and space weather phenomena using telescopes, satellites, and other sophisticated instruments for a relatively short period of time. The Sun, however, has been around for several billion years. Scientist use various "proxy" techniques to estimate levels of solar and space weather activity in prehistoric times and in more recent eras prior to the space age.

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Sunspots are dark, planet-sized regions that appear on the "surface" of the Sun. Sunspots are "dark" because they are cooler than their surroundings. A large sunspot might have a central temperature of...more

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